Little Stories That Help You Sell More
Hey Everyone:
Well here we are in August. Where I’m located it’s hot, humid, and muggy. Ugh! For me, it’s a good time to stay indoors and sip a tall, refreshing glass of iced tea – no sugar, no lemon – just tea.
As we head through August and the Dog Days of Summer, I’m wondering how your marketing is going. What’s been working? Are the results as good as you hoped?
You know, sometimes we think our marketing efforts are working, and it comes as a horrible surprise when we find out they’re hindering us instead. One of those surprises can come in the form of testimonials. Yep, those little endorsements and recommendations we try to squeeze out of our customers and clients. They’re supposed to be powerful marketing tools that help you sell more, right? But…
Testimonials are ineffective. Sadly, most people don’t read your testimonials. It’s not because they don’t care. And it’s not because they’re too long or time-consuming. And it’s definitely not because your customers don’t have interesting stories.
It’s because…well…heavy sigh…they don’t tell your potential customers what they need to know about other customers you helped and served. Customers just like them. Customers who had a problem just like theirs. Customers who got their problem solved by YOU. Customers who have a happy ending to their story.
You see, testimonials are little stories that have a happy ending. And those stories are most effective if they speak to the only three things a potential customer wants to know.
What are those three things?
1. What problem did your customer have?
2. How did you solve their problem?
3. What was the result? In other words, what was the happy ending?
So…what does this look like?
Here’s an example of a testimonial I received a while back:
“Mary is great! She provided us with better marketing materials and now our sales are up. We’re going to close the quarter strong. I would recommend Mary’s service. You should really get in touch with her.”
While I appreciate the kind words and the vote of confidence this testimonial really doesn’t tell my potential clients HOW I helped them sell more. The only thing we can tell is that they needed “better marketing materials”, and now sales are up. Not much to go on, right?
How about this instead?
“We came to Mary because we weren’t getting any quality leads from our website. And because our leads weren’t great, we weren’t making any sales either. Mary rewrote our entire website so that it’s clear and speaks to our target market. The people in that market now understand how we can help them, and they’re requesting appointments to learn more. The best part is that the people setting appointments are now buying from us. And they’re buying more! We’ll definitely hit our quarterly goals. Thank you, Mary, for helping us sell more.”
See the difference? Anyone reading this testimonial knows my client needed a better website. They know I wrote the content and copy for that website. And they know my client’s new website is engaging their target market. Sales are increasing overall.
Now THAT’s a happy ending!
Remember, your potential clients and customers rely on your testimonials to help them decide if they want to buy from you. So, make sure your testimonials speak to these three important things:
What problem did you solve?
How did you solve the problem?
What are the results, or what is the happy ending?
Stick to this format and soon your own target market will connect and engage, and your sales will grow.
Take a look at your testimonials. If they need some refreshing let me know. I can help. Just send me a note at mary@truevoicecopy.com
Here’s to little stories with a happy ending!
Mary Vosika | Owner/Director | True Voice Copy
P.S. Make sure your testimonials help you sell more. After all, that’s what they’re supposed to do! Contact me at mary@truevoicecopy.com.